Half to rtjfus s



(No Model.)

0.- W. ELLIOTT.

PROTECTOR FOR BOOT AND SHOE STRAPS.

No. 267,506. Patented Nov. 14, 1882.

L/VVEJV'TUR I Charles WEZZioit B1} kw .rli/ru-nei/ W W'I JVESSL'S N. PETERS. Pholwljlhognphflr. Waihmglun. 0. C.

UNITED STATES A'FE'F trio.

CHARLES W. ELLIOTT, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- -HALF TO RUFUS S. MERRILL, OF SAME PLACE.

PROTECTOR FOR BOOT AND SHOE STRAPS.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 267,506, dated November 14, 1882,

Application filed October 7, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES W. ELLIOTT, of Boston, in the State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Protectors for Boot and Shoe Straps, of which the following is a specification.

Boot and shoe straps are usually made of light-colored and fancy webbing, which, unless protected in some way while the boot or shoe is being made, is liable to become soiled.

It has been customary hitherto to protect the straps by means of a tubular envelope of paper, which is torn off and destroyed after,

the boot or shoe is finished. It is my object to provide for this purpose a protector which can be used over and over again with different straps.

To this end I make it of metal,and construct it so that while adapted to receive and be at tached to a strap, it shall be detachably connected therewith, so as to be readily removed from the strap whenever desired.

The manner in which my invention is or may be carried into effect can best be explained and understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a plan of the blank from which the protector is made. Fig. 2 is a view of the completed protector. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the same, together with the strap which it surrounds. Fig. 4 is a cross-section passing through the studs 0. Fig. 5 is a plan of modified form of blank, and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a modified kind of protector made from said blank, and hereinafter referred to.

In this illustration of my invention the protector is formed of a thin sheet-metal strip or blank of the form represented in Fig. 1. For nearly one-half of its length it is wider than for the remainder ofits length, the wider portions at at the sides being intended for the sides of the pocket which the strip forms when folded, and one of its ends is serrated, as at b.

To form the protector, the sides a are bent up at right angles, and the strip is folded up on the line 00 00, Fig. 1, thus producing the pocket-like protector shown in Fig. 2, in which A A are the walls of the pocket, and a are the sides. The part A, as seen, is of a width to enter between the sides a. The serrated edge I b is bent over so that the teeth will project toward the opposite face or wall of the pocket; and to retain the part A when it is pressed into place, the sides a at the points 0 are indented, thus forming inwardly projecting stops or lugs, which snap over the edges of the part A as it is pushed past them, and serve to hold it in place. At the same time, owing to the springiness of the metal, the part A can be drawn back past the locking-studs, so as to open the pocket whenever desired.

To use the device the loop of the strap B to be protected is inserted in the open pocket to the full extent, and then the two Walls A A are pressed together until'the locking-studs snap over the edges of plate A, thus locking the two together. The teeth I) by this operation are forced into the strap B, thus preventing the protector from becoming disengaged therefrom. After the boot or shoe is completed the protector is removed and is in readiness for use on another strap.

I do not restrict myself to the use of any special form of fastening device. The studs 0 are a convenient form of such device; but they may be dispensed with, in which event the plates AA could be held together by simply bending inwardly the sides auntil they overlap or clamp the edges of wall A, as indicated in Figs. 5 and 6; or other suitable means which will detach ably connect the pocket with the strap may be employed.

I do not claim broadly a detachable protector ,for boot and shoe straps; but

' What I claim as new and of my invention 1s- 1. The metallic. strap protecting pocket adapted to receive and inclose on all sides the loop of the strap, and provided with means, snbstantially'as described, for detachably connecting it with said strap.

2. The strap-protector consisting of the parts A, A, a, and b, formed in one piece of sheet metal, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereofI have hereunto set my hand this 29th day of September, 1882.

CHAS. W. ELLIOTT. Witnesses i .TAMEs J. MYERS,

- JOHN E. VALENTINE. 

